NEW YORK, NY September 20, 2023  —

Susan Matorin, MS, LCSW, ACSW has been included in Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Having fostered a lifelong fascination with the psychological make-up of people as well as a perpetual concern for social justice, Ms. Matorin initially pursued an education at Vassar College, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1964. She continued her studies at Columbia University, earning a Master of Science in social work in 1966. In addition to these accomplishments, she obtained her certification as a social worker from the State of New York and her license as a clinical social worker from the Academy of Certified Social Workers. Ms. Matorin concluded her academic efforts with postgraduate coursework at the Columbia School of Social Work in 1966.

Soon thereafter, Ms. Matorin began her career as the chief of social work with Washington Heights Community Service at the New York State Psychiatric Institute from 1966 to 1978. During this time, she was recruited as an adjunct associate professor at the Columbia School of Social Work in 1977. She was subsequently appointed as the chief of ambulatory social work in psychiatry at the New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center between 1978 and 1981. Moreover, Ms. Matorin served as the director of social work at The Payne Whitney Clinic, part of the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, from 1981 to 1997.

From 1997 to 2000, Ms. Matorin worked for the Cornell Psychiatry Intensive Outpatient Program as a program director and the treatment coordinator on the Affective Disorder Team. She currently excels as a senior lecturer on social work in psychiatry at the Weill Cornell College of Medicine and the chair of the Lucille Austin Lectureship Committee for the Columbia School of Social Work. She has been additionally active on the Executive Committee for the Metropolitan Chapter of the Society for Social Work Leaders in Health Care. Ms. Matorin also dedicates her time and attention to the Helen Rehr Center for Social Work Practice as a board member, having formerly been elected as the chair for the Executive Committee.

Outside of her primary responsibilities in her field, Ms. Matorin has contributed to the Columbia School of Social Work as a member of the Alumni Past Presidents Advisory Council, a past member of the Dean’s Advisory Council and the past second vice-chair. Furthermore, she has been involved with the Board of Trustees for the Martha K. Selig Educational Institute with The Jewish Board and the Pastoral Education and Research Committee for the HealthCare Chaplaincy Network. A prolific speaker in her areas of expertise, Ms. Matorin was invited to conduct a panel presentation for Fountainhouse titled “Getting Better Health Care For Your Mind and Body” in 2016.

Ms. Matorin has found much success with her written works as well, having first penned “An Interdisciplinary Team to Inform Patient Decisions” and “Still Stressed About My Grades” in 2015. A contributing author for “Clinical Social Work with Troubled Couples” and “Social Workers: Finding Real Solutions for Real Problems” in 2016, she additionally authored “Clutter is in The Eye of The Beholder,” “Finding Joy in Social Work” for the Social Work Journal in 2015 and “Programs Offer People with Schizophrenia a Greater Role in their Own Care.” She has also submitted various published letters to the editor, including “Letter to The Editor” for Older Women in 2016, “Science” for The New York Times in 2016, “Decline of a Neighborhood” in 2018, “Fathers, Sons, Forgiveness and Regrets” in 2020 and “Considering a Coronavirus Divorce” for The New York Times in 2020. Ms. Matorin provided her writings in a more substantial capacity to The New York Times with such articles as “Digital Psychotherapy” in 2021 and “What Holds a Marriage Together, or Doesn’t” in 2022.

Ms. Matorin has been featured and profiled in a number of high-profile periodicals, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg, and Millennium Magazine. A fellow of the American Orthopsychiatric Association, she has been additionally affiliated with the Academy of Certified Social Workers and the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care. Likewise, Ms. Matorin participated on the Licensing Task Force for the Metropolitan Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

As a testament to her exceptional endeavors, Ms. Matorin was presented with the Distinguished Service Medal from Columbia University in 1989, a Centennial Award in 1998, the Hyman J. Weiner Award from the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care in 2006 and the Ellen Perlman Simon Mentor Award from the Society for Social Work Leaders in Health Care in 2021. In 1995, she was nominated as the Social Work Director of the Year by the Metropolitan Chapter of the the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care. Ms. Matorin attributes her success to the support of her family and her outstanding mentors, which include Dr. Alvin Mesnikoff, Winnie Winikus, Dr. Jody Schachnow, Elizabeth Prichard, and her late husband, Richard Charles Friedman.

Having lived and worked with an emphasis on a healthy work-family life balance, Ms. Matorin is especially grateful for the social values that she inherited from her parents and applies to all of her clinical work. She is also happy to have been involved in her husband’s work in his field, including his constructive work for the LGBTQ+ community. In the coming years, Ms. Matorin hopes to help dispel the stigma surrounding mental health, continue remaining productive with her patients and her writing in her field and shine a light on the welfare of children throughout the world.